To kick off the Comparative Literature and Languages Department Dissertation Brown Bag series, ABD candidate Yuheng Ko will present from an excerpt of his dissertation.
All faculty and graduate students are welcome to convene in the Comparative Literature and Languages library for this in-person research talk.
Abstract
Chinese science fiction is often understood as a foreign “import,” prompting scholars to ask what makes it “Chinese.” Existing scholarship has largely approached this question through the intertwined histories of modern Chinese fiction, Western scientific discourse, and imperialism. This talk traces a different, often marginalized lineage of xiaoshuo 小说: informational writings that record anomalies and transmit technical knowledge of occult arts (fangshu 方术). I examine the revival of this tradition in the web novel Ghost Blows Out the Light 鬼吹灯 (2006–2010), widely credited with creating the contemporary “grave-robbery” genre. Through fengshui and physiognomy, Ghost draws on the ancient category of the “Laws of Shape” (xingfa 形法), which interprets physical forms to uncover hidden knowledge. Reading the novel alongside technical writings such as the Horse Physiognomy manuscript from Mawangdui, I argue that this neglected genealogy allows us to rethink the relationship between science and fiction in contemporary China. Formally, the Ghost series creatively dramatizes the interplay of metaphor and literalization. Diegetically, it straddles modern scientific discourse and indigenous fangshu, ultimately contributing to a world-building that substantially evokes Chinese correlative cosmology in a modernized China.
About Yuheng Ko
Yuheng Ko is a PhD candidate in Comparative Literature at University of California-Riverside, with Designated Emphasis in Speculative Fictions and Cultures of Science. His current project explores mantic experiences and activities in early China and ancient Greece, with a particular focus on their narrative representations across textual traditions and literary genres. A comparatist in Sino-Hellenic studies, he is also working on reading ancient and modern speculative narratives in juxtaposition through the lens of the history of science and thought to explore the possibilities of ancient or indigenous scientific models and discern their aesthetic implications.
What’s a dissertation brown bag?
Dissertation brown bags are opportunities for scholars in our department to present on works-in-progress and receive constructive feedback from their peers in a supportive setting.
Who is this event for?
All faculty and graduate students in Comparative Literature and Languages and humanities-related fields at UC Riverside.